Category: Announcements

Bridgefolk Briefs

A few items of interest this week:

  • From Mennonite Church Eastern Canada: A service of healing between Mennonites and Lutherans will take place later this month in Waterloo, Ontario.  Bridgefolk participants might be particularly interested in the story of footwashing as a means of healing relationships.
  • Click here for a report on the day of reflection for Mennonites and Catholics in South Bend, Indiana.  This gathering, involving many friends of Bridgefolk, was previously announced on this site.
  • Resources from last summer’s conference are now available on the 2010 Conference page.  Click here to read the presentations by Abbot John Klassen and Mary Schertz or to view the footwashing liturgy used in our corporate worship.
  • Share your thoughts on the Discussion page.  The current discussion topic explores the interaction of movements and institutions in church life.

Michiana Bridgefolk sponsors day of reflection

Michiana Bridgefolk will host a day of reflection on September 18 in South Bend, IN.  Participants will focus on “A Mennonite and Catholic Contribution to the World Council of Churches’ Decade to Overcome Violence.” Leaders include Bishop Kevin Rhoades, Marlene Kropf, Andre Stoner, Margie Pfeil, Mary Schertz, Tina Velthuizen, Mike Griffin, Rich Meyer, and Jay Landry.  Click here to access the event flier.

Mennonite World Conference endorses dialogue with Catholics, Lutherans

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – During its annual meeting in July, the Executive Committee of Mennonite World Conference approved participation in a tri-lateral conversation with the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.  General Secretary Larry Miller reflected: “Because of our history, we Anabaptists have often seen ourselves as heirs of martyrs, and we need to come to terms with how that affects our view of the world.  We also need to see ourselves as members of the wider body of Christ, called to give an account of our convictions and practices, and to receive others as they do likewise.”  The dialogue will begin in 2011.  The full report can be found here.

Bridgefolk conference explores footwashing

Collegeville – The annual Bridgefolk conference, which each summer brings together Mennonites and Catholics for four days of discussion and fellowship, met this year at Saint John’s Abbey at Collegeville, MN. This year topic was footwashing, which has emerged as a central practice of the conferences.

The program began with addresses by Mary Schertz, professor of New Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, and Abbot John Klassen of Saint John’s Abbey. Schertz emphasized the Biblical foundations of footwashing in the Gospel of John. Abbot Klassen explored the status of footwashing in the Catholic tradition.

Other speakers discussed footwashing as prayer, as simplicity, and as nonviolence. Continue reading “Bridgefolk conference explores footwashing” →

Press release: 2010 Bridgefolk conference explores footwashing

Collegeville, MN (Bridgefolk) – For the ninth consecutive year a voluntary group of North American Mennonites and Catholics will meet for three days this summer for conversations about the faith which unites them—and the issues which divide them.  The Benedictine community at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville MN will host the gathering, as it has six previous conferences.

Called the Bridgefolk conferences, these annual gatherings seek to build bridges between these two long-estranged Christian communities.  This summer’s conference will be held on July 22-25.  It is open to the public.

This year’s topic is the practice of footwashing, which has emerged in previous conferences as a common practice which both groups have traditionally shared, and which participants in the Bridgefolk movement have found they can share despite the divisions which still exist between their two communities.

This summer’s conference will be the first in a series focusing on the common spiritual practices which sustain both Catholic and Mennonite life.

The 2010 Bridgefolk Conference is subtitled “Practices for our Life Together in Christ.”  It will explore issues such as service, hospitality and non-violence. Speakers will include scholars, pastors and laypersons from both Mennonite and Catholic traditions offering theological, academic and personal reflections on the practice of footwashing and its role in discipleship and Christian formation. Continue reading “Press release: 2010 Bridgefolk conference explores footwashing” →

Bridgefolk director calls new book the fruit of much interchurch dialogue

Gerald W. Schlabach, Bridgefolk co-founder and long-time director, has just published a new book on the practices of stability that all Christian churches need to sustain community in an age of individualism and mobility of all kinds. “I know I’m being a little provocative with the title,” says Schlabach, “but Unlearning Protestantism is really the fruit of many years of interchurch dialogue. I have tried to listen to various traditions as they have grappled with the challenges of loyalty and dissent, and to share my reflections in a way that helps all of us grow together toward Christ.” Continue reading “Bridgefolk director calls new book the fruit of much interchurch dialogue” →